Hand Quilting
 

Hi,
I have been hand quilting for the first time and I am using the warm and natural batting. I find it a little stiff when pulling the needle through the layers. If I remember correctly, I think there was a thread on what battings are best for hand quilting. Anyone have any suggestions? I do wash my quilts so I need a batting that will wash well. Thanks, Christina

I find W&N a bit stiff as well (I hand quilt) - I prefer a polyester batt. The thinner the better.

Good for you for trying it for the first time!!

I have used W&N for quite some time now & I hand quilt with no problem, maybe I will try the poly batting and see if I see any difference.

The thinner the batter the better for hand quilting. Good luck to both of us in our learning process :)

Warm and Natural has scrim in it, which is why it doesn't have to be quilted closely. That also makes it a bit harder for some of us to hand quilt.

In general, polyester battings seem to be easier for most to hand quilt, and they don't usually have to be quilted too densely. Wool is also a good choice, although washing it might be a problem.

For cotton batting, my favorite is Mountain Mist Blue Ribbon. For polyester, I like Hobbs Polydown when I want a bit of loft, and Mountain Mist Poly lite when I don't. Some quilters like Quilters Dream cotton.

I bought swatches of battings from Harriet Hargrave's store - if you google her you'll find it. They didn't cost much and gave me an idea of how they'd quilt.

Janet

I admire the person who can successfully hand quilt W&N cotton batting. That said, I would never recommend starting with this batting. Select one that will be easy to needle and make it easier on yourself until get more eperience. It might be just the thing for you but not everyone.

I hand quilt and use W&N all the time as well. Sometimes it's a bit stubborn but since I bought a bolt of it, I'm a long way off before checking out/using anything else! Needle-nosed pliers can be a great friend. I really don't have issues with the W&N but I guess it's because I don't know any better!

I use Fairfields polyester b atting all the time and have only used the Warm and Natural when quilting for others and that is what they send me. Have no problems with either.

I use poly batting all the time and have never had a problem with it.

I hand quilt with W&N, too, because I like the look. Polyester is easier but I don't like the fibers coming through. Have you tried a finger cot when you pull the needle through? I can't quilt without one. My fingers slip too much on the needle. They're very inexpensive at any pharmacy. Even WalMart carries them.

I agree. There is no use making something harder than it needs to be. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised if you go with a poly until you get more eperience. JMHO

hobbs heirloom is a lovely cotton batt for hand quilting- warm & natural- or any batting with scrim is better suited to machine quilting- the scrim makes the batting a more (durable) batt- to withstand the rigors of machine quilting-and allows a larger quilting distance.
any batt without scrim is good for hand quilting -- some of the poly batts are nice---wool is WONDERFUL!

I also hand quilt and I like Hobbs 80/20. Seems to work better for me than W&N

warm and natural has bits of hard stuff in it, that I find annoying, so now I use a cotton poly blend. It also seems to shrink more evenly with the quilt when it washed. it is an 80/20 blend by Poly fil. I buy it at Joann's. I am not a purist though, my budget is tight so I buy with coupons.

I use poly batting as well for hand quilting.

I love W/Nat but the very devil to hand quilt, so relunctantly use poly , it certainly gives more loft too.

A month or so ago I purchased Pellon cotton batting on sale at JoAnn's. I had a quilt done this week by my long armer and she said it was the best batting she had ever used. She and I both like W&N but the Pellon is SO soft. She said she had used Pellon off the bolt but this was from a package and was much, much softer. I don't know if this would help with the hand quilting, but thought I'd pass it along.

I like to quilt with 80/20 mix of cotton and poly. I can not hand quilt through W&N. Hobbs is good. I may be trying Fairfield soon. I just bought it for a machine quilt and liked the feel of it.

Me too! W&N is great for machine quilting but terrible for hand quilting. I can get small stitches with poyester but can't with W&N.

By what I have heard, Warm and natural is hard to needle through by hand. The very nicest handquilting batting I know of is Hobbs Wool, and I havent tried the new last year Quilters Dream Wool, but I predict it will be very nice also... like BUTTER ! ! !
I have also heard that a number of the QuiltersDream battings (not the thickest ones) are very very nice to handquilt.
Because the *buttons* say I can insert an image.. I will try that with a tiny thumbnail of Hobbs Wool... hey what the heck... [ATTACH=CONFIG]286361[/ATTACH]

very cool, sheep!

Quilter's Dream Request and Select weights are both fabulous for hand quilting.

I also use needle nosed pliers to pull my needle through when it is being stubborn.

Hand quilting wool batting is wonderful. Just choose a washable wool. And quilting on the bias instead of the straight grain of the fabric makes it easier to quilt also.